Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Budget Revenue Projections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Revenue advisers urge cautious budgeting, recommend $5.99B for FY2025 and $6.4B for FY2026
Summary
The Joint Finance Committee accepted the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee's median revenue recommendations after a briefing by EROC co-chairs; the committee urged caution about appropriations above its recommended totals, citing economic uncertainty.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee accepted the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee's (EROC) revenue recommendation, which sets available general fund revenues at $5,990,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and $6,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
Senator Kevin Cook, co-chair of EROC, told the JFAC hearing that the committee "completed our overall assessment of Governor Little's general fund revenue projections" and reviewed testimony from economists, business leaders and industry spokespeople. Cook presented the committee's medians and differences with the governor's projections, saying the committee found the governor's FY2025 estimate to be higher than its median and recommended a lower figure for appropriations.
Representative Jeff Ehlers, EROC co-chair, thanked committee members for their work and for the expert testimony the committee considered. Ehlers said the committee appreciated the input used to form the median outlook.
The committee compared the governor's revenue estimates with EROC medians and found the following differences: for FY2025 the governor's projection stood higher than the committee median (EROC recommended $5.99 billion); for FY2026 the committee recommended $6.4 billion compared with the governor's projection (the report presented a lower governor projection under a pessimistic scenario at $6.262 billion). The EROC report recommended that the legislature be "cautious in making appropriations above the committee's revenue recommendation," citing economic uncertainty related to potential Federal Reserve actions addressing inflation and the upcoming presidential election.
Co-chair Horman moved to accept the EROC report. The motion was seconded by Senator Woodward and the committee accepted the report by unanimous consent with no objections recorded.
The acceptance does not itself set appropriation amounts; it records the committee's advisory revenue estimate for use as JFAC and the full legislature proceed through budget decisions.
Votes at a glance
- Motion: Accept report of the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee. - Mover: Co-chair Horman. - Second: Senator Woodward. - Outcome: Accepted by unanimous consent (no objections recorded).
Context
EROC's role, described during the briefing, is advisory: Idaho Constitution Article VII, Section 11 requires the state to balance appropriations and expenditures with available revenues. The EROC median projections are based on analysis of business, tax and financial data and expert testimony. The committee recommended using its medians as conservative planning figures because of short-term economic uncertainties.
What happens next
JFAC will use the committee's revenue guidance in setting appropriation decisions in upcoming maintenance and enhancement budget hearings.
